Friday, May 14, 2010

Watching Grass Grow

Today I watched grass grow.  I lay on my stomach on the perfectly manicured lawn next to the business building on campus and watched.  And it was beautiful.

Okay, so I didn't actually see any growth happen.  And I wasn't just lying there watching.  I was writing.  About the grass.  And the sun was warm on the back of my black jeans, and a soft breeze whispered over my skin.  And I thought about grass growing.  I thought of how it takes so long that we can't see it happen, but we know it does, because on the weekend we have to mow it.  I heard the cars go by, and saw people rushing on the sidewalk.  And I thought about how I always seem to be running places and there's always something that has to be done right now.

But I was very happy in that moment in the sun, in the grass.  And I thought, maybe we would all be happier if we took time out more often to just be.  To watch grass grow.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Little Things That Make Me Happy

Pretty cupcakes.  Tuesday I finished my final exams for spring.  I went over to the University Center to get some lunch, and they had these gorgeously decorated little cupcakes.  Now, cupcakes in general make me happy, but pretty cupcakes make me even happier.  So I bought one.  (Don't fret for my health, I had a sandwich too.)  Then I took a picture of it with my phone, because I found I couldn't ingest such perfection without documenting it somehow.  And then I ate it, and it was fabulous.  It pretty much made my day.

Fun Musical soundtracks.  Specifically [title of show].  (No, really, that's what it's called).  I think this is probably one of the most brilliant shows written in the 21st century.  It has poppy upbeat music and clever, roll-on-the-floor-laughing-out-loud lyrics.  It's a musical about writing a musical - what's not to love?  It makes me smile to listen to just one song.  Of course it has moments of profound truth, too.  My favorite song from the show is "Nine People's Favorite Thing" with the lyrics "I'd rather be nine people's favorite thing than a hundred people's ninth favorite thing."  The song has a pretty powerful message about following your own artistic instincts instead of trying to please everyone.  Since this is something I struggle with on a daily basis, this song makes me doubly happy.

Random acts of music and dancing.  We had our very own flash mob in the library yesterday.  I don't know who organized it, but ours was entirely violence free and definitely a little pick-me-up in the middle of finals week.  I have to disagree with Wikipedia's statement that these groups always perform "pointless" acts, though.  How can anything that relieves stress and puts smiles on so many peoples faces be pointless?  Here's the video.